JUNIOR netballers from across the Wimmera were put through their paces by top level Collingwood Magpies players on Monday.
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Micaela Wilson, Cody Lange, April Brandley and Sam Gooden put players from all the Horsham District and Wimmera Netball clubs, including Stawell Warriors and Swifts, through their paces.
Wilson said running clinics was one of her favourite things to do.
“We run a lot of clinics in Melbourne but we love coming out regionally to bring the netball to our regional fans,” she said.
“We don’t get to do regional clinics enough, this is our first time in regional Victoria.
“We hope to run regional clinics yearly.”
A group of 12- and 13-year-olds ran through drills at Horsham Lanes and Games in the morning before 14- and 15-year-olds took to the court in the afternoon.
Maddi Taylor, Elisa Bibby, Kirby Clayton, Zoe McGregor, Dakota Cosson, Tess O’Callaghan and Danieka Clayton participated from the Warriors, with Kathryn Boag, Olivia Barber, Amy Reid and Mazey Crawford from the Baggies.
The groups ran through a series of different drills coordinated by the Collingwood players.
“It was back to basics because I don’t think there are enough scouts that come out this way," Wilson said.
“In terms of attack we were going through our goaling technique and different attacking moves such as holding and dodging.
“In defence it was one-on-one and how to shut down our player and force the attackers to do something different.”
The players were brought to Horsham by AFL Wimmera-Mallee with support from Wilson Bolton Holden.
AFL Wimmera-Mallee netball manager Nikki Ervin said it was a fantastic opportunity for young netballers in the Wimmera.
“I don’t think I’ve seen something of this magnitude here for a while,” she said
“Everyone was so excited and it exceeded our expectations.”
With rain falling outside Ervin was thankful to have a facility to run the clinics in.
“Just to able to cater for so many girls and also have that little bit extra room to watch from the side was great,” she said.
Among those watching were regional representative coaches who also learnt new drills and how to fine-tune their own approaches.
After each clinic the Collingwood players spent time answering questions, signing autographs and posing for photos.
